Over the years, the current site of Overland Golf Course in Denver has been home to a potato farm, a horse track, an auto-racing strip, an airfield, a tourist campground, a nine-hole golf course and an 18-hole course. Tom Romolo, who served as head professional at Overland for more than a quarter-century, even had one old-timer tell him people used to pan for gold nearby.
Now another incarnation may be in the works for Overland, which is among the oldest golf courses in Colorado — and west of the Mississippi River, for that matter — having opened in 1895. As part of a bigger plan for the area, Denver Parks and Recreation is considering converting Overland from an 18-hole course to an updated, renovated nine-hole facility — possibly an executive layout — and using the remaining land to build a new community park.
Altering Overland Golf Course is by no means a fait accompli, but the Denver Parks and Recreation December newsletter makes it clear that it is one option being considered as part of the (Platte) River South Master Plan.
“It’s just a conceptual idea to address the future scenario of increased population and density in that area of town,” Gordon Robertson, director of planning, design and construction for Denver Parks and Rec, said this week. “If that occurs as we expect, we need to provide additional park services and land.
“One idea of I’m sure many — but one that I think has some validity — might include altering the golf course to 1) meet the needs of a different golf generation that’s coming up that maybe wants to play a nice renovated nine-hole course that’s not laid out in a traditional and flat manner but is maybe more exciting (and) a little more interesting, and also maybe is set up for junior golf as we try to continue to build that program. Then (2) creating more space for a regional park that can provide additional park services in that part of town that we anticipate will be needed in the future.
“So it’s an idea, and it’s something that isn’t needed today, but it might be useful and helpful down the road. It’s just a conceptual idea. If we ever chose to do anything with it, it would take a whole committee process, a public process to review the idea in much, much more detail.”
Much of the opposition to the idea is based on the historic nature of 114-year-old Overland Golf Course, the first course in the Denver area. Overland was originally a nine-hole facility, but had nine holes added in the 1950s, according to Romolo, who first played Overland in the early 1940s. Sixteen holes were rebuilt following the Platte flood of 1965.
The possible changes “bother me because of the history of the place,” said Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Dan Hogan, who has played the City of Denver courses for many decades. “You have to view it as one of the most historic courses around. It goes back to the turn of the (20th) century. The movers and the shakers of the day played there before there was a Denver Country Club (which opened in the early 1900s). My vote would be I’d hate to see anything happen to it because of the history.”
Romolo, who worked at Overland from 1966 to “˜94, feels similarly about changing the course.
“I think it would be terrible,” he said. “There are enough parks around. It doesn’t make too much sense, but it’s all going green, I guess. (A park) would be an outlet for people to enjoy the area, but what about all the people who play golf there? For a lot of seniors, the course is their outlet.”
The Parks and Recreation newsletter said a regional park will be needed because of increasing population in the area, and it noted that nearby Washington Park is already operating at capacity and Ruby Hill Park “while offering many recreation options and amenities, is primarily a hill and does not afford the traditional park amenities that city residents expect in a regional park.”
Scott Rethlake, director of golf for the City and County of Denver, can see both sides of the issue and said he’s “on the fence but open-minded” about the possible changes.
“The pluses to changing are that you’d get a fantastic state-of-the-art nine-hole executive facility, and that”˜s something we don”˜t have in our (city) portfolio,” Rethlake noted. “It would offer diversity, and part of our mission statement is to serve diverse groups and to grow the game (in this case through an improved junior golf facility). This would fit in with that, so I see a positive there. The negative is you’ve got a rich history there as a piece of land — not only as a golf course. So I can see pluses and minuses on both sides.”
Rethlake points out that if Overland became a nine-hole facility, it could conceivably lead to another golf-related change for the city. He said land has been set aside in the Stapleton area for a golf course, and it’s possible the funding source for the development project involving Overland could kick in some money that might help make a Stapleton course become a reality.
“It could make for a great product, possibly the flagship of Denver golf,” Rethlake said. “We don’t have anything (course-wise) that far northeast. Maybe it makes sense to diversify.”
Rethlake said about 48,000 rounds per year are played at Overland, noting that that number has increased in recent years as course conditions have improved.
“I’m kind of in between” on the idea of changing Overland, said Kipp Steinauer, chair of the Denver Golf Advisory Committee. “It’s the oldest course around, and a favorite of seniors. It”˜s a short course and flat and easy to walk. (But) if we had a facility that grows junior golf, that may be an advantage. And if another facility is built, you may have an even better course. I’m just waiting to see what the (specific) proposals are.”
If Denver Parks and Rec decides to include the idea of altering Overland into its River South Master Plan, it said it will solicit public input to gauge sentiment on the matter before the issue is finalized one way or another.
